Expansible textile yarn comb



Feb. 9, 1960 G. w. [BBS EXPANSIBLE TEXTILE YARN COMB Filed Oct. 1. 1957 FIG.1

INVENT OR FIG?) 8 W 2 M w M w a A R ATTORNEY United States Patent EXPANSIBLE TEXTILE YARN COMB Gerald W. Ibbs, Newtown Square, Pa., assignor to E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, Wilmington, Deb, a corporation of Delaware Application October 1, 1957, Serial No. 687,411

3 Claims. (Cl. 28-55) This invention relates to an expansible textile yarn comb, and particularly to an expansible comb for the handling of the textile yarn lengths used in making up a warp sheet in textile manufacturing processes.

Previously, some designs of textile yarn combs, such as that of U.S. Patent 1,013,714, have utilized tension springs for the retention in position of the comb dent holders. It is often necessary, as when adding more yarn lengths to the warp, to adjust the individual dent holders closer together with respect to one another so as to include within the same width of warp sheet the additional yarns or, in the event that fewer yarns are processed, then to expand the yarn disposition evenly within the same overall Warp sheet width. A widely used design of adjustable comb employs a pantograph linkage for the location of the individual dent holders relative to one another. The pantograph arrangement is objectionable because of the fact that any error in disposition of individual dent holders is cumulative for succeeding dent holders along the apparatus. In addition, pantograph linkages are expensive to manufacture and are relatively delicate in construction, so as to be easily bent out of precise form during service.

Other arrangements of txetile combs, such as that of Patent 1,249,283, utilize a multiple retaining screw in conjunction with biasing springs for the self-positioning of the dent holders, but this is objectionable because the construction is fragile and complicated, and also because the springs bind unequally over the several lengths of the screw, and the spacing of the holders is thereby rendered unequal.

A primary object of this invention is the provision of a rugged design of expansible textile yarn comb having a very high degree of precision of dent holder disposition while, at the same time, retaining freedom of adjustment of the dent holders with respect to one another. Another object of this invention is the provision of an expansible textile yarn comb which is simple in construction and economical in fabrication. The manner in which these and other objects of this invention are obtained will become apparent from the detailed description and the following drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a partial view in side elevation of a preferred embodiment of expansible comb according to this invention wherein two of the dent holders are shown in section and the adjusting bar is shown only in part in relationship to one of the end supports.

Fig. 2 is a section on line 2-2 of Fig. 1,

Fig. 3 is a side elevation view of a guide rod support piece, and

Fig. 4 is a diagram showing a portion of the groove development over 270 of the circumference of the adjusting bar of Figs. 1 and 2.

Generally, the expansible comb of this invention comprises a plurality of dent holders, retained in a common horizontal plane and formed arcuately on the underside, arranged in close proximity to an adjusting bar which is provided on its periphery with individual grooves and driving ball members interposed between the grooves and concave seats machined in each of the dent holders, the pitch of the grooves being chosen so that equal separations are maintained between adjacent dent holders during movement of the adjusting bar.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2 particularly, a preferred embodiment of apparatus according to this invention comprises end frame members N which are adapted to be mounted in a vertical plane and which support the opposite ends of adjusting bar 11. Bar 11 shown in the drawings is circular in cross section and is provided with two concentric necked-down portions 12 and 13 at the ends, the larger of which is 12, which is journaled within frame 10 and retained in fixed relationship therewith by set screw 14. Thin washers 15 slipped over each neck 12 inside frame members 10 minimize end play of bar 11. The length of bar 11 is provided with a plurality of blind grooves 19 of progressively increasing pitch referred to the central plane A of the bar in the directions of both of the ends, as described in detail with especial reference to Fig. 4, which extend over approximately 270 of the periphery of 11, as shown also in Fig. 2. The driving connection between bar 11 and dent holders 20 is provided by balls 21, which may be Mr" diameter hardened steel balls of the type used in ball bearings and which are disposed one in each groove 19.

Dent holders 20 are preferably metal blocks which are machined arcuately on the bases 22 to conform generally to the outside periphery of bar 11. The holders 20 are provided with milled spherically surfaced seats 23 of a depth approximately equal to the radius of the balls 21, within which the balls are adapted to be retained. The clearance between the bases 22 and the outside ungrooved surface of bar it is preferably kept at or less to minimize any tilting tendencies of holders 20 transverse bar 11. The dent holders are provided with drilled bores 25 adapted to slidably engage guide rod 26 which is secured to end frame members 10 through guide rod supports 27 attached to the frame members with machine screws 28. Supports 27 are drilled at 29 to receive the ends of guide rod 26, secured thereto by set screws engaging with tapped bores 16, thereby locating the guide rod a fixed distance from bar ill to maintain longitudinally parallel freedom of movement of dent holders. 20 with respect to 11 as hereinafter described in detail.

The textile yarn receiving dents 32 are mounted in blind drilled holes in the tops of holders 20 and are secured in place by a friction fit, soldering or in other ways. The upper ends of the dents are provided with yarn receiving grooves 33.

Referring to Fig. 4, the development of the grooves with respect to the surface of adjusting bar 11 is detailed, a portion of the developed surface of bar 11 over the areas occupied by grooves 19 being shown in plan. The arrangement depicted utilizes the spacing of grooves 19 with opposite inclinations on the left-hand and right-hand portions of bar 11 running from the transverse center plane A of the length of the bar. Instead of spacing relative to center plane A of bar 11, the spacing could be made relative to either end of the bar, if desired, however, the endmost grooves would then make a very acute angle with the axis whereas this effect is halved when the reference is the center plane.

As indicated diagrammatically in Fig. 4, the objective is to obtain lateral movement of dent holders 20 a finite distance equal to twice the separation from the reference plane of the first dent holder for each succeeding dentholder away from the reference plane. Thus, choosing the point in the rotation of bar 11 by way of example, if the first left-hand groove a is spaced from reference plane A by a distance x, the next groove b must be separated from a by a distance 2x, and from 3 reference plane A by a distance 3x. Similiarly, groove is separated from groove b by a distance 2x and, consequently, from reference plane A by a distance x. Succeeding dent holders are spaced one from another and from reference plane A in the same manner.

The groove development for the right-hand end of bar 11 is similar to that for the left-hand, the inclinations of the grooves being opposite to that for the left-hand end, but groove a being spaced a distance x from reference plane A, groove [2' being spaced 2x from groove a (and 3x from reference plane A), and c being spaced 2x from b, and so on.

It will be understood that the interval x between successive grooves 19 increases from the top to the bottom of Fig. 4, so that the actual orientation of the grooves with respect to bar 11 over each half length of the bar is that of progressively increasing pitch with increased distance away from center plane A. It will be further understood that dent holders 20 are spaced with high accuracy longitudinally of bar 11 by the tracking of balls 21 in grooves 19 for each particular angular disposition of the bar, so that advance and retraction of dent holders 20 along guide rod 26 resembles the movement of a nut restrained against rotation with respect to the axis of an engaging screw.

In a typical installation which required the processing of an even number of yarn ends, the following dimensional pattern was utilized. The beam on which the yarn was wound had a length between beam flanges of 28". It was desired to wind 24 yarn ends on the beam with the provision of winding either 22 or 20 ends on the same beam in the event of breakage of the yarn, which, due to the spinning process involved, occurred as two ends for each breakage. The permissible traverse per yarn end was, with the dimensions of beam and the number of ends involved, 28/24, equal to 1.166". Thus, the separation between adjacent grooves 19 at the closest spacing (e.g. a from a, Fig. 4) was the interval 1.167", and x at the 0 line equaled 1.167/2, or 0.583". Grooves b and b were spaced 3x from plane A on the 0 line, in this instance L750". Similarly, grooves c and c' on the 0 line were spaced 5x or 2.917" from reference plane A, and the spacing of succeeding grooves was according to the same plan.

With a reduction of the number of ends from 24 to 22 to accommodate for the first breakage anticipated, the spacing of the grooves at the next set point, in this design chosen to be at 135 rotation of bar 11 from 0 position for the setting for 24 ends, was 28/22, equal to 1.272" approximately. Thus, x on the 135 line was taken as 0.636", which was the spacing from reference plane A for grooves 12 and a, b and b' on the 135 line being spaced from A an amount 3x, or 1.909", grooves c and 0' being spaced from A an amount 5x, or 3.182", and so on for succeeding grooves.

Finally, the adjustment for 20 ends was selected at 270 rotation of bar 11 from 0 position, the spacing of individual grooves being 28/20 equal to 1.400", whereupon x was 0.7", which was the spacing of a and a from A, 3x or 2.100" for b and b from A, 5x or 3.500" for c and c from A and so on. To facilitate precise rotational location of adjusting bar 11, the ends are preferably provided with milled indication grooves matching with a reference mark milled on one of the end frame members 10, so that the desired setting for any particular number of ends 24, 22 or 20 can be instantly and precisely made. Bar 11 is preferably provided with a crank or other turning device (not shown) fitted to neck 13 to effect the appropriate rotational adjustment.

In operation, assuming that 24 yarn ends are to be handled at the outset, bar 11 is turned so that dent holders 33 of dents 32 continue to precisely the traverse required for even winding of the yarn over the full face widthfof the beam. Since there is no relative motion between the dent holders and grooves 19 except during the relocation of the dent holders incident to accommodation for yarn breakage, lubrication can be dispensed with and, at the same time, the relatively large width of grooves 19 permits ready brush or suction cleaning to free the grooves of lint.

When the first breakage occurs with the particular apparatus described, it is necessary to adjust the spacing of dents 32 so that 22 yarn ends will be wound within the same length on the beam as 24 ends were previously wound. This is accomplished by rotating adjusting bar 11 clockwise as seen in Fig. 2 to the 135 position, whereupon individual dent holders are each brought to precisely the proper new position. It is necessary to rethread dents 32 to fill all positions from plane A both ways, the very endmost dents being left vacant after restringing because their predecessors from reference plane A now take up the full beam width. With bar 11 locked in the new position, winding is continued without change in dent position until the next breakage occurs,

of dent positioning can be obtained by appropriate groove 20, spaced longitudinally of the bar by coaction of the location. The apparatus is adapted to handle either odd or even numbers of yarn ends equally well, the apparatus of Fig. 4 being such that the locating line 67.5 corresponds to 23 yarn ends, whereas locating line 202.5 corresponds to 21 yarn ends. A single adjusting bar 11 can be easily calibrated to adjust for a dozen, or an even greater number, of dent positions if conditions require; however, it is usually the manufacturing practice to shut down operations and restore the broken ends after more than a relatively limited number of breakages have occurred. Even greater versatility in position selection can be obtained by the substitution of adjusting bars of different groove layout for one another. This can be done very readily by simply removing one bar and mounting a substitute in place, then assembling the dent holders 20 and their actuating balls 21 on the new bar. A cylindrical form of adjusting bar 11 is particularly preferred because of the high inherent precision obtainable in machining the grooves. However, if desired, a flat plate with grooves 19 machined in it in a common plane, resembling in all rcspects the development in plan shown in Fig. 4, may be utilized with good results, it being understood that adjustments with the plate design are had by shifting the plate forward or backward along the line of yarn travel the appropriate amount. The term adjusting bar as employed in the claims is therefore intended to cover adjusting bars having a wide variety of individual shapes.

It will be apparent from the foregoing that the design of expansible comb according to this invention can be modified in a relatively great number of respects without departure from the essential spirit of the invention, and it is intended to be limited only by the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. An expansible textile yarn comb comprising in com bination a multiplicity of dent holders disposed in single file arrangement normal to the line of yarn travel, means restraining said dent holders from rotational movement out of a fixed plane while permitting free movement of said dent holders along the line of said file arrangement,

an adjusting bar disposed in close proximity to' said dent holders with'longitudinal axis parallel with said line of said file arrangement, said adjusting bar being provided on the outside surface opposed to said dent holders with a multiplicity of grooves equal in number to the number of said dent holders having pitches such that the spacing I between any pair ofadjacent ones of said grooves of the be wound on the beam with same general inclination is equal to 2x where x equals one half the quotient of the full beam length on which yarn is to be wound divided by the number of yarn lengths it is desired to wind within said full beam length, and in dividual driving ball members disposed in each of said grooves seating in mating concave seats in individual ones of said dent holders.

2. An expansible textile yarn comb according to claim 1 wherein said adjusting bar is substantially circular in cross section.

3. An expansible textile yarn comb comprising in combination a multiplicity of dent holders disposed in single le arrangement normal to the line of yarn travel, means restraining said dent holders from rotational movement out of a fixed plane while permitting free movement of said dent holders along the line of said file arrangement, an adjusting bar disposed in close proximity to said dent holders with longitudinal axis parallel with said line of said file arrangement, said adjusting bar being provided on the outside surface opposed to said dent holders with a multiplicity of grooves equal in number to the number of said dent holders, said grooves being provided as two sets with opposite inclinations referred to an arbitrary reference plane transverse said adjusting bar with the grooves next to said reference plane disposed a distance x from said reference plane and all other adjacent grooves of a common set disposed apart at spacings of 2x, where x equals one half the quotient of the full beam length on which yarn is to be wound divided by the number of yarn lengths it is desired to wind within said full beam length, and individual driving ball members disposed in each of said grooves seating in mating concave seats in individual ones of said dent holders.

Rater-erases Cited in the file of this patent FOREIGN PATENTS 85,957- Germany Oct. 2, 1895 

